james bullard is in memphis, tennessee speaking about the economy and monetary policy. that's at 7:45 eastern time. >> a look at retail sales figures rose only marginally as shoppers cut back to pay down debt. data also suggesting australian kus are turning to cheaper offerings from foreign and online retailers. aussie dollar slipping in reaction.and online retailers. aussie dollar slipping in reaction.from foreign and onlin retailers. aussie dollar slipping in reaction. states will report same store sales today excluding the drug store sector. coming in well below the 6.4% growth rate we had in the same period last year. costco beat the street, 6% same store sale growth. slightly above analysts forecasts then. so where was the strength in the back to school shopping season? joining us for more is sw retail advisers president and cnbc contributor. thanks for coming along. let's look back to start with the back to school season is important. what did it tell us about how the rest of the year will shape up? >> back to school is very important here after we get through aug